Project Rebirth
by EvelynElizabeth214
Summary: What if someone else got the Super Soldier Serum at the same time as Steve? But, what if they don't get to test out what the serum did until the 21st century?
1. Chapter 1

1942

Anna watched as Dr. Erskine went through the list of enlistees at the _World Exposition Tomorrow_, wondering if they would finally find their main subject for the Super Soldier Serum. She couldn't help but follow him after he wasn't satisfied with anyone so far.

"Anna, go enjoy yourself," Dr. Erskine said when he noticed her following him. "There is no need for you to help me."

"Well, I figured since I'm one of the test subjects, I might be able to help find the other one," she explained meekly. The doctor had decided that there would be two test subjects for Project Rebirth - one male, one female. He wanted to see what kind of effects the serum had based on gender, or something like that. She wasn't really sure herself. She only knew that she would be getting a lower dose of the serum than whoever they would find for the Army for whatever reason.

"Go," Dr. Erskine encouraged , pushing towards the exit of the temporary recruitment center. Finally she relented, awestruck by the fair as she walked through the exhibits. Eventually she found herself in front of Howard Stark's exhibit about a supposed flying car. She'd met him before, when she was chosen for Project Rebirth. When he saw her, he smiled and nodded towards her, and she waved back. A small crowd had gathered in front of the stage, awaiting his demonstration of his newest design. Anna looked around the crowd and noticed one man in particular, dressed in an Army uniform. He was with two girls, but after looking closer she noticed a much smaller man behind the girls looking rather uncomfortable. She raised one eyebrow, knowing that one of the girls was probably supposed to be his date, and she was completely ignoring him. It wasn't long until Howard's exhibit began, and Anna watched eagerly as the car on stage started levitating. There was a collective gasp from the crowd and Anna looked around again. She noticed that the small man she noticed before was gone. That made her wonder where he could've gone, then looked back towards the temporary recruitment center and saw him walking inside. Curious, she followed, passing him before she could be noticed.

"Ah, Anna, I'm glad I found you," Dr. Erskine said after rounding the corner and seeing her. "There are a few more candidates that have come in…" he trailed off, looking over her shoulder. She turned and saw the small man talking to the other man in the army uniform; it looked like they were arguing about something.

"Why are you so keen to fight? There are so many important jobs," Army Uniform said, his face lined with concern.

"What am I gonna do, collect scrap metal-" the smaller man started.

"Yes!" Army Uniform interrupted.

"... in my little red wagon?"

Anna stifled a smirk at the man's comment.

"Why not?"

"I'm not gonna sit in a factory, Bucky."

"I don't…"

"Bucky, come on! There are men laying down their lives. I got no right to do any less than them. That's what you don't understand. This isn't about me."

"Right, 'cause you got nothing to prove."

Anna looked over to Dr. Erskine and noticed the look in his eye. He'd found the right man.

"Don't do anything stupid until I come back," the man she now knew was named Bucky said after hugging the small man.

"How can I? You're taking all the stupid with you," the small man replied in an amused tone before being left standing by himself. He took a deep breath and turned towards the main entrance of the enlistment office, and Anna momentarily made eye contact with him before he walked past her, apparently going to enlist whether or not his friend wanted to. Dr. Erskine followed behind the man at a safe distance, leaving Anna to wonder if the doctor actually wanted this tiny, frail looking man to be the other test subject.

A couple of days later, Anna was on her way to Camp Lehigh, arriving around the same time as the newest army recruits. Before being taken to her accommodations, Dr. Erskine led her over to another woman.

"Agent Carter," he said with a warm smile when the woman noticed them. "I would like to introduce you to one of our test subjects for the Super Soldier Serum, Anna Evans."

"Peggy Carter," Peggy introduced herself to Anna, outstretching her hand.

"It's a pleasure to meet you,"Anna said, shaking the other woman's hand. "I saw the newest recruits coming in as I arrived."

"Yes, we were hoping to pick from a number of different candidates for the right soldier," Agent Carter explained with a nod. "Not quite the same procedure as when we found you, but your American government requested it be done this way. If you'd like, I can show you to your accommodations and help you get settled in."

"Okay," Anna said, nodding her goodbye to Dr. Erskine. As she followed Agent Carter to a small building, she listened as the new army recruits were given their first orders for training.

"You will have your own room while you're here, directly across the hall from mine," Agent Carter explained after they entered the small building. She opened a door to reveal a sparsely furnished room - it had a standard-issue cot, dresser, and a desk with a lamp on it. That was it. While it wasn't something Anna was used to, she would be able to get by. "Everyone eats together for meals," Agent Carter continued after stepping into the room behind Anna. "Breakfast is at 5am, lunch at 12pm, and dinner at 6pm. You'll be assisting Colonel Phillips and myself in helping train the Project Rebirth Candidates by joining them in their training."

"Wait, what?" Anna asked, giving Agent Carter an incredulous look. "No one ever told me I'd be training for the army."

"Is it a problem?"

Anna was surprised by Agent Carter's sharp tone, but shook her head in response. After Agent Carter left her to get settled in, she wondered how hard it would be trying to keep up with the physicality of army training. The thought of being one of two subjects for Project Rebirth was beginning to make her nervous, and she wondered if she was actually the right choice.

At 6pm that evening Anna went to the mess hall, finding herself in line for food behind the small man she'd seen at the recruitment station. He was maybe an inch or two taller than her, and possibly weighed less. Behind her, someone shot a rude comment towards the man and he turned to glare at the person, but Anna didn't dare look back to see who it was. She'd had her fair share of being bullied by other girls when she was in grade school and didn't want to get involved in something similar around a bunch of men. She'd noticed the small man glance at her after glaring at the bully, but tried her best not to bring attention to herself. The bully in the line behind her kept on making snide comments about the small man, and after comparing him to herself, she couldn't help but turn to face him. The couple of people between them looked shocked that she was even acknowledging him.

"Do you really have nothing better to do than terrorize someone who isn't even bothering you?" she said, stepping out of line to face this man. He chuckled before looking at her, looking her up and down as if she were a piece of meat.

"I could spend some time bothering you, if you'd like," the man said suggestively, giving Anna a lewd look.

"Leave her alone," the small man said from behind her, having stepped out of the line once he heard the other man's comment.

"And what are you gonna do about it?" the bully asked, crossing his arms and radiating arrogance. The small man said nothing but stood his ground. The bully walked towards them until he was right in front of the small man, smirking. "Thought so." Then he turned to Anna, "What are you doing later? I was thinking maybe we could go for a little walk…" he reached up and ran a finger over Anna's cheek and she instinctively jerked her head back, trying to get away from him. What she wasn't expecting, however, was for the small man to step forward so he was between her and the bully.

"She obviously doesn't like that. Leave her alone," he said, his face stony. The bully got up in his face.

"I'm not worried about some pipsqueak like you." He turned back to Anna and asked, "So? What d'you say, sweetheart?"

Anna felt anger rise in her; if she was going to do anything to defend herself, telling this man not to call her "sweetheart" would have to be it.

"I'm not your 'sweetheart,'" she said, glaring at him again. She noticed the small man glance at her, his expression one of concern. "And I would appreciate it if you would leave me alone."

"Is there a problem over here?" Colonel Phillips suddenly said from behind Anna.

"No, sir!" the bully said, immediately straightening up his act for the colonel.

"Then stop holding up the line."

After the bully was well away from Anna, she got back in line for food and noticed the other man right behind her.

"Thank you for trying to stick up for me," he said quietly to her, making her turn and really look at him.

"Well, thank you for doing the same," Anna said with a smile. "I'm Anna."

"Steve."

"No offense, but how in the world did anyone let you join the army?"

"Dr. Erskine."

"Oh."

It seemed to Anna that Dr. Erskine had already found the second subject for Project Rebirth in this Steve man. She made a mental note to ask the doctor about it later as she stepped up in line to get food.

The next morning, training started at exactly 8am. Anna had to join the formation of the new recruits, next to Steve. When the same bully from the previous night started heckling Agent Carter after she introduced herself, Anna would've stepped in to help if Carter hadn't been able to handle things herself. Anna was certainly impressed by the agent's ability to punch out a man half a foot taller than her. Colonel Phillips was quick to address them and start their training. For the next two weeks it was the same - physical workouts in the mornings, shooting practice after lunch, then more physical training. At least for the group chosen for Project Rebirth.

The day of the experiment came faster than Anna had expected. She imagined Steve felt the same. In the weeks prior, she'd gotten to know him better when she had the chance. None of the other soldiers would talk to him, and especially not her. She was disappointed that they rode to the lab where the experiment would take place, but had a feeling it was just a precaution. It had been decided between the two of them that Steve would go first; he was the _real_ soldier, after all. But she hoped she would be able to be of some help, too, once the experiment was over.

Dr. Erskine went over everything with Steve and Anna before everything started. Steve seemed pretty nervous, but also excited. Anna was more nervous than anything. Before getting started Steve made a point to have a private conversation with her - well, at least as private as a lab with so many people in it could be.

"You look scared," Steve said protectively.

"And what do you think you look like right now?" Anna asked with a small smile, making Steve smile, too.

"Yeah, now that it's happening it's a little terrifying. But if it means I can be better, and can actually get out there and fight, then I'm willing to do anything."

"You know, that's probably why Dr. Erskine picked you before really getting to know any of those other recruits. You don't back down from a fight. It's admirable."

Steve grinned and rubbed the back of his neck, a little embarrassed by the compliment.

"I think this is the longest conversation I've ever had with a woman before," he blurted out, his face a light shade of red. Anna couldn't help but laugh, finding his embarrassment kind of cute.

"We're ready, Steve," Dr. Erskine said from behind them, giving both of them an encouraging smile. Anna watched as Steve got ready, her nerves twisting her stomach into a ball. It did seem pretty scary, but Steve didn't seem to care.

Once the experiment went well for Steve, it was Anna's turn. While she wasn't sure what she would look like physically afterwards, she did think Steve's looks were a _huge_ improvement. Apparently the serum really did make him super-human.

"Well," Steve said when he noticed her up on the platform a few feet from him. "I think it worked."

"I think so, too," Anna agreed with a small smile.

"How are you feeling?" Agent Carter asked, a hint of concern marring her features.

"Taller," Steve said with the same goofy grin he'd given Anna earlier. Anna smirked, trying to focus on everyone fussing over Steve before having to go into what he just did.

"Now, Anna, if you don't think you can do this just let us know and we'll stop," Howard Stark said to her before she got into the machine. She nodded, but only to appease him. She was just as determined as Steve to have this done to her. If it meant it would help end this god-awful war, she wanted to do it. She'd lost too much because of that war already and didn't want to lose anything else.

As she was enclosed in the machine, her heart started racing. The pinpricks from where the serum would be injected didn't really hurt, but she wasn't sure what would happen when the Vita-Rays would start. But it didn't take her long to wonder - suddenly the serum was pumped into her, and _that_ hurt. Her brain went fuzzy from the anxiety that shot through her when Howard Stark started turning up the Vita-Rays. She wanted to scream - hell, Steve did. She understood why now. She wondered for a moment if childbirth hurt worse. Not that she would ever find out, she thought. Not soon enough the light from the Vita-Rays subsided, and Anna didn't feel right. It was like she was underwater, even after being pulled out of the machine. She vaguely noticed Peggy and Steve both giving her concerned looks before there was a commotion around them, then she blacked out.


	2. Chapter 2

2011

Anna could hear cars going by somewhere. Then the noise was accompanied by something else - a door opening then closing. She tried to make herself open her eyes, but it was harder than she originally thought. Then she could hear the radio. It was a baseball game, one her older brother had taken her to before the US got involved in the war. Then something else caught her attention. She felt different. _Really_ different. Like she could go run ten miles and then continue with the army training she'd been doing without getting out of breath. She finally opened her eyes, but didn't move to get up as she listened to whoever entered the room move around. Wherever she was, it looked like a regular army hospital. But the game on the radio told her that was not the case.

Finally she sat up and saw a nurse filling up a glass of water on the table where the radio sat. But something didn't sit right with her about that nurse. As she approached Anna, she looked too calm. Too nice. Like she'd never even done so much as read about the horrors of the war going on.

"How long was I out?" Anna asked as she chanced trying to stand up. She was much stronger on her feet than she was anticipating.

"Not long," the weird nurse answered vaguely, trying to hand the glass of water to Anna. Anna gave the glass an unsure look - she wanted to know what was going on. ASAP. She took a step back from the woman, but that only made the woman plaster on a fake smile and step towards her. Without thinking, Anna pushed her and almost screamed when the woman went flying across the room, shattering the glass of water in the process. Suddenly other people came through the door, armed to the teeth with weapons and in gear that she'd never seen before. There was no way she was still in 1942. That, or it was all a delusion.

As she tried to calm her breathing, a man entered the room, wearing all black and an eye patch. While he looked like a threat, Anna tried to tell herself otherwise.

"Anna Evans," the man started, putting his hands behind his back. "Glad to see you're finally awake."

"Where am I?" Anna asked before she could stop herself.

"Still in New York," the man answered with what should've been a reassuring nod. Anna didn't interpret it in that way, though. "But I need you to listen to me. You've been in a coma for a very long time. We weren't even sure if we could get you to wake up. But we're going to need your help. I can explain everything, if you'll just come with me."

"How do I know I can trust you?"

"You know Steve Rogers, right?"

Anna knew there were only a handful of people who cared about if she ever knew Steve. Against her better judgement she nodded, then followed the man who introduced himself as Nick Fury out of the room and into a hallway that made her stop in her tracks. The building was way different from anything she'd ever seen before.

"I'm going to sound crazy asking you this," she said tentatively, still unsure if she should trust this Nick Fury. "But what year is it?"

"That's a very good question," Nick said in an approving tone. "I was hoping to ease you into this, but since you asked, it's the year two thousand eleven."

Anna stopped in her tracks at his words. Two thousand eleven? Was he crazy?

"You're saying I've been in a coma for sixty-nine years?" She asked incredulously after Nick figured out she'd stopped walking.

"Sort of. After you went into a coma in 1942, you were put in a cryogenic stage. But now we need your help, so we thought we might try to see if you would ever wake up. Seems the sleep did some good."

Anna would've appreciated the dry humor if it weren't for the fact that she'd apparently been in a coma and in a freezer for almost seventy years.

"Back in 1945, close to the end of the second world war, Steve Rogers put a plane down in the Arctic so it wouldn't bomb the States," Nick continued after encouraging Anna to continue following him. "Of course, the world thought he was dead. But he was in a similar state to what you were in. A group of scientists down there found the plane he took down, and him with it. Hadn't aged a day. And now he's here, probably close to waking up."

"Why do you need me for this?" Anna asked, not sure that she was following Nick's train of thought.

"It will do him some good to see a familiar face, I think. I hope. He will be awake any time now, so we need to hurry before he does something irrational."

"You do know I barely know him, right?"

"Well right now you're our only option."

As they continued down the hall, there was a loud noise from a room not far from them and suddenly someone busted through the wall before running off. Anna knew it had to be Steve. Everyone around her started running after him and out the building and she followed, but stayed behind a little bit. She wasn't sure how he would react to seeing her.

She followed the people chasing Steve until they were outside and in Times Square. She couldn't help but stop for a moment as she took in her surroundings. Things were very different from the last time she'd been in that area in the '40s.

"At ease, soldier!" Anna heard Nick Fury say from inside a circle of cars. She walked over to them carefully, not sure if she was in danger or not. "Look, I'm sorry about that little show back there, but we thought it best to break it to you slowly."

"Break what?" Steve asked. Anna felt relief at simply hearing a familiar voice as she watched the exchange.

"You've been asleep, Cap. For almost seventy years."

Steve was in shock. Anna knew exactly how he felt. Trying not to be noticed, she stepped closer to where Nick and Steve were, coming up behind Steve. She saw Nick glance at her briefly, but not long enough for Steve to notice.

"You gonna be okay?" Nick asked him, stepping forward. Steve still seemed to be in shock before nodding.

"Yeah," he said, looking around him. "Yeah, I just… I had a date."

Anna knew immediately that he was probably talking about Peggy. It was the only woman she'd known other than himself that he'd been in contact with concerning Project Rebirth.

"Steve?" she said quietly as she stepped into where Steve and Nick were surrounded. He turned quickly, apparently not expecting someone to be behind him.

"Anna?" he said, looking more confused by the second. "Wait, what are you doing here?"

"Honestly, I don't really know yet," Anna answered with a shrug as she continued to walk towards Steve.

"How…" the question faded, but Anna knew what he was asking.

"Same as you. Just in a slightly more controlled environment."

"But you were in a coma. We were told you'd never wake up."

"You can thank modern medicine," Nick said, now walking towards them. "If we can all go inside, I can explain everything. Or at least as much as you need to know."

Steve gave Anna a questioning look before following Nick back inside the building and she followed right behind him. After entering he looked back at her, and she tried to give him a reassuring smile but she was still a little on-edge herself. Steve dropped back to walk next to her as they went up some stairs.

"So I guess you're about as clueless about what's going on as I am?" he said quietly.

"Yeah pretty much," Anna said, still pretty unsure of herself. "I haven't been awake much longer than you, either."

"We were worried you'd be up first, Cap," Nick said from in front of them as he opened a door and held it open for them to enter.

"What is this place?" Steve asked once all three of them were sitting.

"The Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division," Nick answered. "Better known as S.H.I.E.L.D. Formerly known as the Strategic Scientific Reserve."

Anna and Steve both knew about the SSR. It's how they'd gotten to be involved in Project Rebirth in the first place. Why they would want Anna awake in particular, she didn't know. She wasn't even sure if she was glad that she was awake. Nothing was the same as when she went under. Steve of course still looked the same, but other than that it was like she was in a completely different world, and she was sure Steve felt the same.

"Since I know both of you will probably need time to adjust to things, we'll be sending both of you to Retreat. It's a safehouse for S.H.I.E.L.D. You'll be roommates for a while," Nick went on. "It's already fully furnished, but if either of you would like anything else all you gotta do is ask."

"Well…" Anna started before really thinking her request through. "Music would be nice. Records are still a thing, right?"

Nick smirked slightly before nodding and handing a pen and notepad to Anna.

"Write down what you would like, and we'll see what we can do," he said.

"What about a motorcycle?" Steve asked suddenly, giving Nick a hopeful look.

"We can do that. Just tell me what you'd like."

Steve nodded, looking over to Anna. She was writing furiously, her list of requested music pretty long. Whatever they were both there for, it seemed that they would at least be given time to adjust to being thrown into an entirely new century.

Once they were taken to Retreat, Anna's anxiety really started to settle in. She didn't have anything with her that reminded her of home. She didn't even have any of her own clothes - S.H.I.E.L.D. took care of that for her, and Steve apparently. She had looked through her closet originally curious, then completely taken aback by how different the clothes were. After a lot of scrutiny, and a shower with more soaps than she knew existed, she finally decided to change out of what she originally had on into a pair of jeans and a long sleeved shirt. She didn't exactly feel comfortable in it, but she felt dirty in the other clothes.

After getting dressed, Anna looked around the log cabin. It was small - two bedrooms, a kitchen, a living area, and one bathroom. As she was inspecting one of the kitchen appliances (which she would later learn was a microwave), a knock on the doorframe startled her. Steve was standing there, with his arms crossed over his chest. She really only remembered him as the skinny Steve with a lot of health problems, and not as the super soldier that stood before her. He'd volunteered his health history to her after they befriended each other over their distaste for Hodge during basic. She waited for him to speak wordlessly, noticing he seemed to act a little awkward around her.

"Uh, how are you settling in?" he asked, nervousness obvious in his voice.

"Well, I'm not really sure what some things around here actually are," Anna started as she walked past him into the living area to sit on one of the couches. The wasn't exactly comfortable, but it would do. "And there were more types of soap in the bathroom than I knew what to do with. And the bed in my room is way bigger than anything I've ever slept in before, so trying to sleep tonight should be interesting. What about you?"

"Yeah, about the same," Steve replied with a small smile. "I don't really know what to do with myself."

"Me too. At least until I have some music to listen to. Then I can at least use that as a distraction."

Steve only nodded, remaining silent. He didn't know why decided to check in on Anna. Perhaps because she was the only familiar person he knew at that point. Anyone else he'd known during the war were either dead or old probably, and he didn't find comfort in thinking about trying to find anyone he knew yet. Even if he could barely hold a conversation with Anna, he could at least try. He considered her a friend before the serum, and hoped that would at least stay the same now.

While the silence between them was growing more awkward, neither of them moved or tried to talk. Anna was still trying to wrap her head around the fact that she'd been in a coma for seventy years, and basically frozen for that amount of time. Steve seemed to be handling everything about as well as she was, so she knew better than to try to make conversation. At least not for a while.

By the next day, a record player and several stacks of records had been brought to the Retreat, and even Steve looked happy about it. They'd both also been given something called cell phones - one of the agents who brought the records explained that if Nick Fury wanted to speak with them, he would call them. Both of them knew about phones, of course, but not ones small enough to fit in the palm of your hand and that wasn't connected to any wires.

"You like music?" Anna asked Steve after one of the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents helped her figure out the record player. It was a little different from one she would've been used to. She looked through some of the records and pulled out a Glenn Miller one she liked. All of the records were newer, and held several songs on each side, which Anna wasn't quite as used to.

"Yeah, I guess," Steve finally answered her, having been going through some of the albums himself. The beginning of Glenn Miller's "In the Mood" started playing from the record, and Steve and Anna both couldn't help but smile.

"This was one of my brothers' favorites," Anna said with a sad smile. "After he left for the war I'd listen to it all the time."

Steve swallowed hard, unsure of whether or not he wanted to talk about the war much. But he could at least listen to what Anna had to say.

"Your brother was in the war, too?" he asked, having sat down on one of the couches. Anna nodded, a sad smile still on her lips.

"Both of them were. My oldest brother, Miles, he was in the 107th infantry, killed in action as far as I know. My other brother, James, I actually can't remember much except he was in the Pacific."

It took Anna a moment to notice how Steve reacted to the information she'd given him. And he was trying to hide the fact that he was on the verge of panicking after hearing her.

"Are you okay?" she finally asked, concerned about what she might've said.

"Uh, yeah," Steve answered, sounding winded. "Just… I knew some people in the 107th." He paused and before Anna could say anything else he asked, "What did you say your brother's name was? The one in the 107th?"

"Miles."

Steve looked away from her, staring at nothing as he wracked his brain. He didn't know everyone that he'd saved from HYDRA, but he wondered if maybe he'd met Anna's brother.

"Did you know him?" Anna asked, her voice softer than before.

"I'm not sure," Steve answered honestly, finally looking at her again. "Maybe."

Anna only nodded, still thinking about these new revelations. Then another thought crossed her mind.

"You know, I'm not even sure what month it is," she said, hoping to lighten the mood a little. "I never even thought to ask."

"Well," Steve said, grateful for the distraction as he took his cellphone out of his pocket, "It is June 28th. At least according to this thing."

"Anna nodded before seeming to realize something and said, "So I heard your birthday is July 4th. Is that true, or was it just something to get people excited?"

"No, it's true," Steve said with an amused smile. "I was actually born on the fourth of July."

"That's coming up soon, you know."

"Yeah, I'm trying not to think about how old I really should be right now."

"Me too."

They were silent again as the big band music played, more comfortable with each other at least for a little while. Not that Anna would call Steve being around her "comfortable." She was well aware of how hard it was for him to talk to women, so she counted herself lucky to have just had a full conversation with him where he didn't stutter. They just continued to listen to the music from the record player, one of them either flipping the record over or changing it out once it ran all the way through long into the evening.


	3. Chapter 3

For a few days, food was brought to them by S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, but by the fifth day, Nick Fury sent them both something called a text message letting them know some agents would be bringing them some groceries and they would be on their own for the remainder of their stay. Nick Fury himself was there while the food was being brought in, and explained that he had a few agents pick up some things he knew they probably never tried before. Anna looked through some of the items, curious about what food tasted like now. There was rice in bags, already cooked, at least five different cereals, and something called Cheetos caught her eye by the colorful bag alone. She noticed Steve going through some of the food, too, and wondered if he was as confused as she was.

Before all of the agents left, one of them showed both Steve and Anna how to use the microwave, something they'd both been avoiding since they got there. By the time they were left alone, it was close to dinner time and Anna was almost excited to make something herself for once. Without saying a word to Steve, she started going through the refrigerator to see what they had, but her phone going off distracted her. It was a text message from Nick, giving her a recipe suggestion another agent had in mind. Something called "Oven-Fried Chicken Tenders" according to the picture sent to her. She absentmindedly scratched the back of her head as she read over the recipe, a little nervous about trying something she wasn't familiar with. Before making a decision, she went to find Steve to see if he would want some.

"Hey Steve," she called out as she walked into the living room, still looking down at her phone. "I have a question."

"Yeah?" he said after coming from the hallway, pulling on a t-shirt as he went. Anna tried to hide her blush - she'd never seen a man who wasn't fully clothed before, much less someone who wasn't family. "Sorry," Steve said sheepishly when he realized what happened.

"I was just wondering if you would want to try this tonight," Anna said, holding her cellphone out for Steve to see. "I really want to cook, but I don't want to make too much."

"Sure," Steve replied with a shrug, handing the phone back to Anna. "I'd offer to help, but I'd hurt more than help in a kitchen."

Anna couldn't help but give him an amused look before walking into the kitchen. Her brothers weren't much help in the kitchen, either. She remembered having to keep them out of the kitchen when she was baking particularly, so they wouldn't eat what she was making before it cooled down. She thought about also making a dessert that night, but it was kind of late already and she didn't want to be up half the night. A dessert could wait until tomorrow.

Making the main dish wasn't actually as hard as Anna was expecting, and figuring out side dishes wasn't very hard, either. She wasn't sure about instant mashed potatoes, or canned vegetables since she grew up in a household that grew their own vegetables. But it wasn't long until the food was ready and Steve walked into the kitchen, having smelled everything from the living room.

"Smells good," he commented, grabbing a plate for himself. Anna made sure to make more than she thought necessary, just in case, and she was glad she did as Steve easily took over half the food she'd made. Barely even thinking about it, they both sat at the kitchen table and ate in silence, something they were both accustomed to even if they didn't know the other person well. It would've been rude to do otherwise, and they'd been eating together for almost a week anyways.

"Do you mind if I ask you something?" Anna said between bites of food. It was the first words they would say to each other while eating.

"What is it?" Steve asked, giving her an expectant look.

"Well… You don't have to answer… I mean, I don't want to impose or make you uncomfortable…" she trailed off, suddenly feeling like it was a bad idea to ask what was on her mind. But when Steve remained silent, she finally continued, "What was it like? The war?"

Steve had a thoughtful look, then went through several emotions on his face from anger to despair to happiness, though Anna wasn't sure what kind of happy memories someone would have from a war. She waited in silence for his answer, and was about to change the subject when he finally spoke.

"Depends on which part you're talking about," he said, sounding hesitant. "I'm not sure if you were able to read anything about me during the war, but not all of it was fighting."

"I read a little bit, but Fury didn't exactly give me your life history or anything."

"What did you read?"

"Well, I know you were the leader of a group called the Howling Commandos, and you guys saved a lot of people. Saw some names listed, different places you infiltrated, things like that."

Something about what Anna said seemed to trigger something in Steve - he was suddenly really tense, and she wasn't sure what exactly put him so on edge.

"Sorry," Anna finally said, staring into her plate of food. "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable." Her words seemed to snap Steve out of whatever funk he was about to be in and he looked over at her.

"It's okay," he said, sounding obviously uncomfortable. "I just… I'm not sure if I'm ready to talk about that just yet."

Anna gave him a sympathetic look, wondering what exactly happened with him and his group that would make him so uncomfortable about the subject. Instead of prodding further, they both ate in silence for the rest of the meal. After putting plates and silverware in the sink, Anna decided to listen to some music. It was the only thing about that place that made her truly comfortable for longer than a few minutes at a more often than not, it would put her in a bad mood after some time because she would start to remember all the dances she used to go to with her girlfriends. So far if she played music for a while, Steve wouldn't even stay in the room. This time, however, he joined her in the living room after a few songs played.

"I used to love going dancing," Anna said, hoping she wasn't striking the wrong chord with Steve again. "My friends and I would go just about every week to this place in Brooklyn. Most of them had boyfriends so they would all meet us there. A lot of the time I ended up just watching, but I did dance a little here and there."

"I went to a dance once," Steve said, surprising Anna that he would be sharing anything with her after the incident over dinner. "My best friend made me go with him. Tried to make it a double date, but the other girl split up with us almost as soon as we got there. Not that I was much good at dancing anyways."

Anna couldn't help but smile, glad Steve was actually opening up to her at least a little bit. Both of them would probably still be at the Retreat for another couple weeks, and avoiding talking about their lives before the serum and for Steve after until he crashed that plane, just wasn't a good idea. She almost wanted to ask Steve to dance with her, just so she could remember a little bit about her previous life, but wondered if it was a sore spot to deal with like the Howling Commandos was. Finally, she just decided to take a shot.

"Would you want to dance with me? Even if it's just to remember a part of both of our lives for a little while?"

She figured something about her question would upset Steve somehow, and wasn't surprised by the look of despair he gave her after the question. But the look didn't last long, and he actually thought about her request for a moment. Did he want to take the chance of trying to dance with her and possibly break down because of how fresh his memory of promising Peggy a dance was? If he didn't accept her offer, he was worried she might be offended, but he also didn't want to have to explain why something so simple would make him so upset.

"If you don't want to you don't have to," Anna said after Steve didn't answer her. "I get it."

"No," Steve said after a moment's pause, giving Anna a stern look. "It's okay. I'll dance with you as long as you don't mind me stepping on your feet."

Anna returned his smile at his last words before standing up and going to the record player.

"Got a song preference?" she asked, turning to face him as he stood as well. Steve shrugged, so she offered, "Maybe something that isn't too fast. Just in case you do step on my feet."

Anna could've sworn Steve snorted trying to hold back a laugh as she looked through the records, finally settling on Glenn Miller's "Tuxedo Junction." That was one of her favorite groups, after all.

"This good?" she asked after stepping away from the record player. Steve only nodded, already looking slightly uncomfortable. "You know, you can just tell me if you're uncomfortable with this."

"No, I'm good," Steve said in a not-too-convincing tone. He walked towards Anna with uncertainty, obviously feeling awkward about the situation. She had a feeling he would feel that way no matter what the year was or who he was about to dance with.

They finally met in the middle of the room, though there wasn't much space for dancing. Neither of them cared, though, and Steve put a hand on Anna's waist hesitantly, taking her hand in his other one as she put a hand on his shoulder. They weren't standing very close together, as it would've been inappropriate for basically strangers to stand too close together when dancing, at least to Steve. Once they started dancing Steve loosened up a little, but Anna could feel the tension in his shoulder. She really didn't want him to be doing this just because she asked if it made him so uncomfortable. But she also wondered why something so mundane would garner that kind of reaction from him.

The song ended and another slightly slower song started, and Steve eventually began to relax a little. Anna didn't dare look at him though, in case this dancing caused some kind of emotional outburst she wouldn't be expecting. What she wasn't expecting, however, was for Steve to pull her just slightly closer to him. She let him, hoping it would put her a step closer in earning his trust, and vice versa. She began to relax as well, having been unaware of how tense her shoulders were during the first song.

They danced until the record stopped, still dancing slowly even through faster songs. When Steve finally stilled, he was tense again, but so was Anna. Something about the dancing made her long for what she had before the serum, and she was sure Steve felt the same in some sense. They stayed still for a long time in the silence, holding on to that familiarity they both felt from something as unimportant as dancing.

Finally, Steve took a deep breath and stepped away from Anna, and out of each other's grasp. She finally felt brave enough to look at him, and he honestly looked like he was trying not to cry.

"Thank you," she said quietly, trying to give him a reassuring smile. He only nodded, stuffing his hands in his pockets and walking away into his bedroom. Anna pursed her lips, wondering why there was so much unspoken emotion during their dancing, from both of them. Without bothering to check that the record player was off, Anna went into her own room and got ready for bed. Her thoughts were filled with memories from her past, from before the serum and being in a coma for seventy years. She remembered her best friends, her time in school and afterwards, having to live with her brothers before either of them got married because their parents died. And she remembered James first teaching her how to dance, and Miles making fun of him for it. She missed her brothers more than she'd been expecting - after all, both of them had died during the war so after they'd been deployed she never saw either of them again. She had no one left, even back in the '40s. These thoughts plagued her mind as she tried to sleep, finding it difficult to stay asleep that night.


End file.
